Southern Tomato Basil Pie Recipes

SOUTHERN TOMATO PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Fit pie crust inside a 9-inch pie plate, pressing into the bottom and up the sides of the plate. Fold crust edges under; crimp as desired. Place a piece of parchment paper over crust in pie plate, leaving a 3-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Carefully remove parchment paper and pie weights. Continue baking until crust is light golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Meanwhile, slice tomatoes crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices; arrange tomato slices in a single layer on paper towels. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt; let stand for 20 minutes. Pat tomato slices dry with paper towels.
• Whisk together mayonnaise and cream cheese until combined and smooth. Fold in 1 1/4 cups Cheddar cheese, egg, flour, garlic, cayenne, black pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt until combined.
• Spread half of the Cheddar mixture in the pie crust. Layer with 1/3 of the tomato slices in slightly overlapping circles. Repeat procedure with remaining Cheddar mixture and another third of tomato slices. Top with remaining tomato slices in slightly overlapping circles. Sprinkle with Parmesan and remaining 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese.
• Bake pie in the preheated oven until filling is set and lightly browned on top, 30 to 35 minutes, tenting crust with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning, if needed. Let stand for at least 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with thinly sliced basil before serving.

SOUTHERN TOMATO BASIL PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Prepare the pie crust by mixing the flour and salt in a bowl.
• Add the cold butter and shortening. Using a pastry cutter (trust me, it's worth the couple of bucks), cut the fats into the flour mixture until it resembles small peas.
• Using a tablespoon, add a little water to the flour mixture at a time, using a fork to stir everything together until the dough just comes together. It should not be smooth and soft like cookie dough, but instead a little more flaky until you squeeze it together.
• Place the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap, shaping it into a ball.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a circle.
• Place in a pie dish and trim any overhanging dough, leaving a good inch around the lip. Crimp this dough and prick the bottom and sides of the pie crust.
• Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup mozzarella and place in a 450 degree F oven for 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven to cool while you prepare the filling.
• Slice the tomatoes thin and place on a double layer of paper towels
• Lightly salt tomato slices and leave them for 10 minutes. The salt will pull out excess water which the paper towels will sop up so you don't have a wet pie.
• Combine 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Sprinkle tomato slices with the garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper to taste. Layer 1/3 of the tomato slices, 1/3 of the cheese mixture, and 1/3 of the basil. Repeat layers.
• In a small bowl combine remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Dot over the final layer of tomatoes.
• Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F and bake the pie uncovered for 30-35 minutes. Cool before serving.